This Sunday seven young people were confirmed in the community I serve. Confirmation in Methodist Tradition is the moment a person takes on the responsibility for their faith, seeking to commit themselves in response to God's grace to a life of faith.
I offered the confirmands a movie clip by Stanley Hauerwas in which he makes numerous challenges. One of the the comments he makes is that we as parents are unwilling to allow our children to suffer for the gospel. We create a kind of sentimental Christianity of niceness- a Christianity which is so enmeshed in the strands of greed that it scarcely knows or believes there is an alternative. Rather it places a veneer of religion onto the predominate societal flow.
What would it mean for our children to take a stand against violence and war, greed and lust. These stands don't endear one to society. Are we willing to let our children suffer? I have wrestled with this for the last while. My son is 2 years old- I want the best scholarly education for my child- but what kind of education does he get going to a school with only the wealthiest. Which education is more important? The scholastic education or the socialisation he receives from those who come from the wealthiest of homes.
Helen and I have no answers at the moment sadly we are just wrestling- hopefully we are in good company- the new name given to Jacob who wrestled with God was Israel the one who wrestles with God- we as Christians claim our roots in that tradition.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Relating to people of another faith
It seems that this generation will be marked by historians as another generation where the battles lines of wars so often lie not within faiths but where the people warring with each other worship different God's Predominately this is seen by the world to be Christians vs Muslims (though Hindu's and Muslims are also are war in many countries).
How does one remain faithful to Jesus when so much of the world desires to have us stand opposing each other?
A member of the congregation I serve recently asked to begin an online discussion with me regarding this issue. The thoughts he has expressed and the questions he has asked has made me wonder about this in more depth.
Jesus taught 'Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you' (Luke 6:27). Trying to make sense of how to love those who hate me is difficult. This friend who initiated the conversation made the point that whilst serving in an emergency rescue function he sees no race, creed, culture etc. but just sees another human being needing help. However the suspicion and enmity that pervades so much of our cross-religious engagements means that when one first sees the religious accouterments one so easily does not see humanity.
Is there any place where Christians and Muslims are having authentic friendships, respectful conversations.
How does one remain faithful to Jesus when so much of the world desires to have us stand opposing each other?
A member of the congregation I serve recently asked to begin an online discussion with me regarding this issue. The thoughts he has expressed and the questions he has asked has made me wonder about this in more depth.
Jesus taught 'Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you' (Luke 6:27). Trying to make sense of how to love those who hate me is difficult. This friend who initiated the conversation made the point that whilst serving in an emergency rescue function he sees no race, creed, culture etc. but just sees another human being needing help. However the suspicion and enmity that pervades so much of our cross-religious engagements means that when one first sees the religious accouterments one so easily does not see humanity.
Is there any place where Christians and Muslims are having authentic friendships, respectful conversations.
Murphy writes the following on her blog when speaking of 'liberal' Christan's calls for tolerance and some angry responses to it:
“But Jesus didn’t preach such things. Jesus preached — embodied, actually, in a way that got him killed – love. Risky, radical, costly, inconvenient love. Messy, complicated, difficult, demanding love. Love of neighbor, of stranger, of enemy.
Tolerance costs me nothing. Loving others — seeking their good, willing their prosperity and happiness, genuinely desiring their companionship — this is the hazardous business of community, of relationship-building, of making and sustaining friendships for the long haul. Tolerance is all too happy to avoid all this. Tolerance turns out to be a means for keeping us estranged from one another while we pride ourselves on our progressive politics or our general open-mindedness whatever our politics.
Nine years after 9/11 most of us are tolerant of Islam but we don’t really love Muslims. We don’t really know any Muslims to love. Tolerance has kept us at a safe and sterile distance.”[1]
I have read numerous articles describing how there are Christian's raising funds to rebuild mosques destroyed by war in Iraq, heard stories of Muslims going to church to protect Christians after the bombing of a church in Egypt.
Which reminds reminds you of Jesus? What do you think Jesus would be doing?
[1] http://debradeanmurphy.wordpress.com/2010/09/09/jesus-didnt-preach-tolerance/
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